Crawfish Bisque

Approximately 200 cleaned crawfish heads
20 lbs. crawfish tails
6 onions, quartered
1 stalk celery
6 bell peppers, quartered
6 pods garlic
2 bunches parsley
8 bunches green onions
1/2 tbsp. oregano
2 tbsp. basil
6 dozen eggs
1 bottle Worcestershire sauce
7 lg. cans bread crumbs or 4 loaves
stale French bread, crumbled
Salt & red pepper to taste

Crawfish bisque is work. Long, messy and hard. So, it's best to make a lot at a time.
It freezes well, so a one-time venture lasts for a long time. You may double or cut the recipe in half.
Put onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, parsley, green onion, oregano and basil in food processor and chop fine.
Put 3/4 of crawfish tails (reserving rest for gravy) in processor with rest of seasonings.
Add bread crumbs, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
When processed, put all in a large bowl and mix with hands. Stuff heads with this mixture.
Pack lightly. Place stuffed heads on cookie sheet lined with foil.
Brown in hot 400 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Freeze or add gravy and then freeze.

--BISQUE GRAVY:--

1/2 cup bacon drippings or oil
1 cup flour
1 onion, chopped
3 chopped garlic pods
1/2 tsp. parsley, chopped
1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce
Salt & red pepper to taste
2 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 cup tomato bits
1 1/2 qts. fish stock
2 bay leaves

Make a dark brown roux with flour and bacon drippings.
Add seasonings (next 8 items), stock (or water, but not as flavorful) and bay leaves.
Simmer slowly for 2 hours. Put rest of crawfish tails in gravy.
Add heads and simmer for an hour. Cool completely. Freezes well.

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